missouri lawmakers

Missouri revenue growth appears to have reached the threshold to trigger income tax cuts.

Data released Wednesday by the state budget director show net general revenues hit more than $9 billion during the fiscal year that ended Saturday. That's a 2.6 percent increase compared to the year before.

Revenues appear to have grown enough in recent years to trigger gradual income tax cuts passed by lawmakers in 2014. Missouri Office of Administration spokeswoman Ryan Burns said whether the cuts will take effect is currently under review.

Missouri lawmakers have voted to make it tougher to prove workplace discrimination in court.

The legislation passed by the House 98-30 on Monday night raises the standard for proving discrimination. It will soon move to the governor's desk where it seems likely to get a signature.

Current law states that an employee must prove their protected class such as race, gender, age or ability contributed to discrimination in the workplace or housing. The new standards would require employees to prove their protected class was "the motivating factor" for their firing or discipline.

Missouri lawmakers have passed legislation to ban people convicted of sex offenses against children from coming within 500 feet of children's museums.

Senators voted 31-1 on Monday to send the bill to Republican Gov. Eric Greitens. The measure passed the House 136-2 earlier this month.

Those convicted of sex offenses against children already are banned from coming within 500 feet of public playgrounds and swimming pools. If signed by Greitens, the legislation would extend the ban to include museums aimed at kids.

The Missouri House has passed stricter requirements for tracking fetal tissue after abortions.

The bill passed Monday with a 117-40 vote. It now moves to the Senate.

The proposal prohibits anyone from donating fetal tissue from an abortion to scientific research and sets stricter standards for pathologists to record and track fetal tissue after an abortion procedure.

Missouri lawmakers are considering a prohibition on the use of state funds for sobriety checkpoints.

The Missouri House voted Thursday in support of the ban in a budget bill. Supporters of the shift say it will free up departments to use money for other, more effective methods to deter impaired driving. Others say the sobriety checkpoints violate drivers' rights by allowing officers to stop people without probable cause.

But opponents of the ban say the checkpoints are an important tool to keep drunken drivers off the road.

JEFFERSON CITY - Missouri lawmakers in both chambers say passing statewide regulations for app-based car services will lead to thousands of new jobs.

Uber's general manager for Missouri Sagar Shah said Wednesday that regulations making their way through the Legislature would allow the company to expand to Springfield, Jefferson City, St. Charles and St. Joseph. The company currently operates in Kansas City, St. Louis and Columbia.

JEFFERSON CITY - The House has endorsed a bill creating a grant program to attract more conventions to Missouri.

Lawmakers gave initial approval Wednesday to a measure authorizing grants for large conventions that could cover up to half the operating expenses. Eligible conventions would have to draw at least half their attendees from out of state, and their grants would be tied to how many hotel rooms their attendees are expected to fill.

JEFFERSON CITY - Missouri lawmakers are considering whether to allow concealed weapons on public transit.

Republican Sen. Bob Onder told a Senate panel Wednesday that his proposal is about safety. He said public transit can be dangerous, and allowing people to carry concealed guns on buses and trains would deter crime.

The final week of Missouri's regular legislative session has arrived. The Republican-led General Assembly and Democratic Governor Jay Nixon are pushing to get several things accomplished before Friday. St. Louis Public Radio's Marshall Griffin tells us that the session, so far, has been one highlighted by partisanship and controversy.

Voters in more than a dozen Missouri counties have approved local taxes that can be applied to out-of-state purchases.

Figures from the Missouri Association of Counties show use taxes passed in 13 of 18 counties where it appeared on Tuesday's ballots. In November, use tax proposals were defeated in six of eight counties.

Spring break has arrived for Missouri lawmakers, as they take a week off before returning to Jefferson City on March 25th.

They’ll have plenty of items on their plate when they get back -- among the House’s priorities is debating and voting on the state budget, which still does not include Medicaid expansion. Speaker Tim Jones (R, Eureka) says the federal health care law does not require states to add more people to the Medicaid rolls.